The importance of using your RealName

Using your real name is a custom in many of our wiki communities. Philosophy and customs differ from wiki to wiki, so keep this in mind. Some communities may not follow this guideline.

This page is here for reference purposes, and was originally taken from the Davis Wiki, so please read it in that context.

Using your RealName is important in many different wiki communities. First, and foremost, it gives you instant credibility. However, using your real name alone doesn't give one credibility, you must then make valuable contributions rather than just talk trash.

Fundamentally, the question is one of community. Would you introduce yourself to your next door neighbor with a fake name? Probably not... and the people on the wiki are your neighbors.

However, you may want to consider that this is an online community, and not quite the same. The better solution to this problem is to never post anything you wouldn't want associated with your name. Be warned any of your comments (be they positive or negative) may be remembered by local businesses and restaurants, and anyone around the world with internet access (note: not a 'next door neighbor') can read or find out about them. Putting material on the wiki should be considered an act of publishing, in a sense.

Many people have created fake or dubious PseudoNyms just to troll or trash talk a single restaurant, business, or individual. This type of cowardly behavior is not constructive and is unfair to the recipient of the complaint. Wiki edits should be fair enough that you'd be willing to say them to someone face to face. That's true whether or not you use your RealName, but it's certainly easier to be unfair when you hide behind a pseudonym.

For community wikis it is much more important to use your real name. The whole point of a community wiki is to strengthen the community that it serves. If members of that community choose a name like "SmarterThanYou" or "Bicyclist" to use while editing it can lead to situations where other editors as well as readers of the wiki are left with a sense of suspicion about the real identity of the masked editor. The anonymous editor then is casting suspicion on many innocent members of their own community and causing their friends and neighbors to suspect each other of being "SmarterThanYou". This is particularly true if "Bicyclist" starts publishing controversial opinions about eliminating all cars in town. Suddenly this casts everyone in town who rides a bike under a cloud of suspicion that they are pushing a radical agenda, but aren't willing to stand behind their opinions with their real identity. It just isn't fair to the other editors who do stand behind their words; it damages the web of trust.

An alternative is to use a slight modification of your RealName (e.g., RName, RealN, RaelName, etc.) and indicating so on your user page. That way, you establish instant credibility, and can always remove the link to your RealName after you've confirmed your credibility through your awesome edits. This option is good for people looking to evade google once they leave Davis. The point is accountability: establishing a reputation on the wiki. Of course, you might wind up making friends who wind up only knowing you by the name you use, so be aware it may well become your new nickname in some circles.

Please remember to use your RealName and not your Real Name, which is trademarked by Amazon.com.

It is ok to use a pseudonym if you are known widely by that name. Other people who choose to use a pseudonym to remain anonymous manage to establish their credibility through making a history of providing many valuable contributions to the wiki.

See also:

• No Interwiki entry for: wiki
  

• No Interwiki entry for: wiki
  

• RealNameUserAdvantages on Meatball Wiki